Why Does June 20 Still Matter So Much?
Iranian women have continuously shaped and led the resistance against the regime over four decades through a series of courageous acts, protests, and unwavering defiance, often facing extreme violence and persecution.
Early Defiance against Mandatory Hijab: Just weeks after the mullahs’ religious dictatorship was formed, Iranian women led massive protests in Tehran on March 8, 1979, against the regime’s decree forcing them to wear the hijab. This was the first open defiance of Khomeini’s oppressive policies.
Organized Protests: By April 1981, the Muslim Mothers’ Society organized a massive rally of 200,000 women to protest regime violence. These same women and their daughters later participated in the June 20, 1981, uprising. For 2.5 years before June 20, 1981, women and girls joined opposition groups, particularly the PMOI/MEK, and actively participated in efforts to stop the tyrannical advances of the new regime.
On June 20, 1981, a turning point in Iran’s resistance movement, women were at the forefront:
Participation in the Uprising: More than 500,000 Iranians, including mothers and daughters, marched to demand democracy and human rights. When Khomeini’s Revolutionary Guards opened fire, Iranian women had to choose between succumbing to suppression and the honor of resistance, and they chose the latter, answering the call of history.
Following the June 20, 1981, uprising, women became primary targets and symbols of resilience in prisons:
Mass Executions: A wave of mass arrests, executions, and torture followed the uprising. Teenage girls, some as young as 10, were executed without trial. At least 50 pregnant women were executed, including Tahereh Aghakhan Moghaddam, who was eight months pregnant. Dozens of grandmothers in their 60s and 70s were also victims. Public prosecutors even published photos of executed children in state-run newspapers. This marked the first time a dictator launched a “genocide” by releasing photos of unidentified young women he executed.
The legacy of Iranian women’s resistance continues across generations:
“Generation Equality”: The sources highlight “Generation Equality” as playing a significant role in the Iranian people’s resistance for freedom from the Shah’s time until today. Women who sacrificed their lives in the 1970s opened the way for large-scale female participation in the movement, followed by another generation in the 1980s whose struggles shook the foundations of the misogynous regime.
Continued Uprisings: Brave Iranian women and girls have pursued this path during subsequent uprisings in 1999, 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, and 2023, with “Generation Equality” vowing to continue until the overthrow of the regime and the dawn of genuine freedom.
Unwavering Spirit: These women, regardless of age, education, profession, ethnicity, and economic class, chose the honor of resistance for freedom to defeat the enemy of their nation. Their stories, from mothers marching beside daughters to schoolgirls refusing to reveal comrades under torture, are not just echoes of the past but the reason the resistance continues today.
June 20 is now remembered as a symbol of sacrifice and unyielding defiance, reminding the world that oppression can be challenged, voices cannot be permanently silenced, and a new Iran is possible, with this legacy burning bright in the hearts of those who believe in a free and democratic Iran, both inside the country and in exile communities worldwide.
